Illegal Nerve
by Keiyou
Summary: Edward makes a mistake with a red water stone and finds himself the privy of strangers and people he knows. rated T to M depending on the situation. Parings: Everyone/Ed. How? Read and you'll find out!
1. Ch 1: Experiment

Illegal Nerve

"My my... this is quite the mess you've made, care to explain?"

Edward Elric looked up baffled, then sheepish because the last thing he expected was the Colonel to stop by his and Alphonse's dorm room...  
at a time where he would be most targeted for a dose of lethal insults!

"Why the hell are you here!" Ed spat, trying to discard the many broken pieces of glass beakers and other implements of Band-Aid hazard off the floor.  
"Riza said you stopped by the office when I wasn't there, and so out of curiosity; I came to see what it was you wanted."  
"that was hours ago!" Ed said tossing out a glass shard "and I already got what I wanted from the second lieutenant."  
Roy donned one of those looks a electrician would at a down live wire in a puddle. "...What would Havoc have that you needed?"

"he carried one of the keys to storage block eight!" an exasperated Fullmetal said crashing to the sofa, having finished fixing the mess.

"Why in Mercury's name did you need that?" Said storage block held an assortment of alphabetized chemicals that pertained to alchemy.  
Seeing as Ed is a State Alchemist it wasn't illegal for him to go in there... but still-

"I got hold of one of those bipedal red water stones." Ed explained to Roy.

"Where? I don't see it?"

"Uh... well, if you look down there..." Ed pointed at the floor a few feet from where he sat and upon the floor was a peculiar spotted stain...  
A slight shade of crimson.

"It melted?" Roy asked confused, weren't the artificial philosopher stones suppose to take on a more solid appearance?

Ed was, for once, willing to explain why it was in its current state.

"I looked over Marco's notes again, and in one of the passages it read; "You may choose to add butter if you wish for a more delicate flavor, or if you so desire; your own recipe for a better tasting syrup."

And of course Roy was confused.

"where you trying to cook the thing?"

"Wha? No! no.." Ed said waving off Roy's naive comment "Dr. Marco hid all his findings on how to create the philosophers stone in a cook book, I swear I told you that.. Anyway, when me and Al first looked over the notes, we disregarded that passage because we'd thought it was a decoy and ignored it."

"Ah hah..." Roy hummed "Continue..." somethings starting to smell...

"While I was thinking about it, I realized that maybe there was more to that sentence, and so for about a week I went over it, and then something hit me."

"What might that have been?" is that smell getting stronger?

"That perhaps Dr. Marco meant that the experimental stone could still be tinkered with!"

"Yeah... and?" Did Fullmetal do something different with his hair?

"So today I went to your office to see if you had that key to the storage and after I got it from the Lieutenant I did some experiments."

"You do realize that could have been hazardous, why didn't you request a lab?"

Maybe its his clothes...

"I didn't want anyone knowing what I was doing." Ed said getting up off the sofa. "I figured I'd be more successful just working in here since no one bothers to visit me, so I set up some beakers and pots and.. you saw the broken glass, if you'd been in here earlier, you'd have seen pink smog floating around the room!"

"And now you have a mess on the floor and no more stone." Roy said crossing his arms "Kudos, I tip my hat to you." Perhaps he had just showered... wait, why care if Ed showers or not?

Why NOT care?

"Damnit I knew you'd end up insulting me you prick!" Ed said glaring at Roy with his usual look.

Then he suddenly went from pissed to slightly miffed, for Roy was not going by the usual rules of their little game of wits, instead of his bastard simper the man looked like someone torn between desire and a fight for his will.

Needless to say Ed knew right then that something wasn't right...

"Uh... Colonel, are you feeling alright? you look sick." Normally Ed wouldn't show concern, except the fact that Roy had possessed a look in his eyes that, for some strange reason reminded him of a lion preparing to attack its prey.

and those eyes were all over HIM!

"WellcolonelitwasniceseeingyouIdshowyouthedoorbutsinceImleavingyoullhavetofindityourselfbye!"

Ed sidestepped Roy to get out the door, except found he was limited movement due to the sudden vine hold Ed suddenly had under his arms and around his upper torso and his back fully held against a breathing chest.  
"Colonel, let me go.." Ed said as calmly as his cracking voice would allow him.

"No, I don't wanna," Roy said, in a voice quite unlike his own, it closely resemble a deep purring that sent nervous shivers down Ed's spine.

Nervousness... and anger!

"You smell too nice..." the man continued, burying his head in the crook of Ed's neck and breathing in deeply.

"Alright this is were I draw the line!" Ed yelled clapping his hands together.

A series of blue electric sparks flashed around the dorm room and Roy suddenly found himself staring at Ed through thick steel bars that surrounded him, keeping him away from the beautiful scent Ed gave off. and it made him angry.

"No! You can't leave! I want you!"

Ed threw him a bewildered stare that read 'get your eyes checked, I'm a guy!' before setting off out the door and out the building.

'What the hell was that about?!' Ed mulled over in his mind, not caring that a number of people in cars were hitting their horns at the disheveled teen diving pass the traffic.

Up ahead the Second Lieutenant was arched partially against a tree in the front of the local 'hangout' of the military, basically a coffee shop slash bar the guys usually go to.

"Second Lieutenant! Sir Havoc!" Ed yelled upon sighting the man, who had his eyes targeting a waitress in a short skirt...

Unfortunately Ed was going to have to interrupt Havocs little fantasy.

And did so, because Havoc turned his head in surprise when Ed skidded to a halt in front of him, jacket loosely on him and hunched over breathing hard like he'd decided to either run a marathon or escape an explosion of some sort...

Judging by the teens expression; Havoc opted for his second choice.

"You gotta do something about Mustang!" Ed coughed out after catching what he could of his breath.

"Chief, calm down. what happened?" Havoc said while looking around nervously, the small crowd around the area had decided to see what the commotion was about... and for some reason had strange expressions on their faces as they watched Ed... how odd...

come to think of it... what stinks?

"H-he just started freaking out! he was all over me and- I don't know, can you make him listen to reason, I trapped him in my roo-... ? Havoc, Sir?

Ed decided that right there would be a time to skedaddle, because now Havoc had adopted the expression that made Ed want to run in the first place.

Except Havoc seemed to possess some super reflexes he never uses, suddenly Ed's vision was full blue and he could smell the cigarette smoke that soiled the front of Havoc's uniform.

not only that, both Ed's arms were pinned at his sides... this can't bode well.

"Wow, Ed..." Havoc moaned strangely "you smell great..."

another comment on his smell... a pattern was taking place now...

"Say, are you busy? Cause I was hoping we could... ya know."

Ed's face lit like a sunset over a tomato garden with red dye colored leaves...

Havoc's hands were breeching over Ed's behind.

'Sorry, Havoc... this is for your own good...'

A swift movement sliced the air and the second Lieutenant was suddenly quite blue in the face as he hit the ground, doubled over in pain.

Ed set his right foot back on solid ground, squinting one of his eyes... he of all people knew how much a knee to the groin hurt...

...but really, the guy deserved it.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ed demanded looking down at Havoc as the guy cringed and whined. "Both you and Roy are acting weird, what do you mean I sme--??"

A chance glance to his left made him realize that the small crowd, including the waitress Havoc ogled earlier, were also giving him the same stares, some more intimidating than others, but all faces said the same thing...

_Lust_.

All Ed felt he could do in this situation was run...

and keep on running.

T.B.C.


	2. Ch 2: Theory

Ch.2, Theory.

Ed slowed down and turned sharply into an ally that seemed inconspicuous, deciding that this would be the best place to hide.

If only for now.

"Damnit..." he muttered crashing onto a small wooden box nearest the back of the small ally, gripping his elbows as he rested them on his knees and buried his head into his folded arms.

He was in what Alphonse would call 'Heavy Thinking' position. Whenever a situation seemed grim or too much to solve with simple means, Ed would sometimes stare downward silently muttering nonsensical words until he found a solution of some kind, most solutions weren't pretty, but they proved effective afterward.

Only problem was no matter how much Ed tried to make heads or tails of this new development; he came up with an absolute zero.

what else can you do when people you know and others you don't know from Adam begin looking at you like a piece of meat?

A good smelling piece of meat...

'What could they have meant by that?' Ed wondered.

Then a reverberating sound of metal crashed somewhere to Ed's right, and he looked up sharply, arms held up in defense in case someone was there to 'attack' him.

His quarry's shadow towered over him and pierced the ally with a devastating roar.

"Meow."

Ed looked up toward the taller wood box next to where he sat and was greeted by two warm looking yellow eyes of a gray coat ally cat.

The kind, if opportunity presented itself, that would wind up in Al's possession.

"Hey there, little guy." Ed said to it with a small smile, deep down he had a soft spot for animals like Alphonse.  
"You startled me."

The cat blinked a couple of times before jumping off the front of the box to slink around to where Ed sat and plop itself on his lap.

"che..." Ed huffed before submitting himself to pet the animal.

At least it wasn't acting like Ed was meat, but that didn't lead him any closer to solving his problem.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Hey..."

Ed awoke to a gruff voice, and looked around with hazy eyes as he tried to remember where he was...

His thoughts were interrupted by a hiss from the kitten.

'OH! I must've fallen asleep!'

"Move it, kid, your in my spot." said the hobo looking down at him, eyes set in annoyance as he waited for the blond kid to move.

Ed sheepishly got up after catching his bearings. "Sorry. I didn't realize this seat was yours."

"No big..." the guy said setting a bag of miscellaneous things down, swiping a bottle of gin from its contents. "I'll let you slide as long as I don't catch you on it again."

Ed blinked for a few seconds before realizing something... something that had to do with today's events...

"Uh... old man..."

"What is it, kid?" the guy said after taking a swig from his bottle "Don't tell me someone as young as you is homeless..."

"Wha... no. Actually I was going to ask if anything to you.. like, smelled funny."

The guy fixed Ed with a stare of remorse "Are you tryi'n ta say I stink, Boy?!"

"No! that's not what I mean!" Ed said hastily waving the man's comment off, before looking dejectedly at the ground "...actually, I really don't know what I mean..."

The man huffed before taking another swig. "Kid like you... shouldn't think so badly..."

"Huh?" Ed hummed looking up

"I see it in your eyes, someone as young as you shouldn't have a look like that. Not sure why your out here, but if you carry yourself like you are, like everything is no more than hardship, you might never truly be happy."

Ed realized the man was slowly loosing his sobriety, but his eyes read that of someone who knew what he was talking about.

"I may look like a dirty old hobo to you, but try taking my advice, kid. The world is a corrupt place, there's no looking beyond that. Though if you can; your young, try to take everything you learn in life one step at a time... without fretting over something as trivial as; I don't know, a fight you had with someone or something."

Ed shifted uneasily.

"Cause in the end all those things become history as the sun rises to start a new day." The man turned to look at the reddened sky. "Even now, the sun sets to start a new cycle. everything that occurred this day will become a memory."

Ed too, looked up at the same sky, a hue of purples and oranges.

"Just make sure the memories you keep, are ones you never regret."

It was strange, although it was ranting; Ed couldn't help but feel that maybe what the man had said held some sort of truth... or something close.

Either case, he felt a little better than he had all day.

Speaking of day...

"OH geeze! would you happen to know the time?"

"I passed the bakery a few minutes ago, the clock there said seven twenty."

'_crap!_' "Thanks!" Ed waved slightly before running off to the streets.

Back in the ally, the man blinked a few times before smelling the air around him.

"Wow, something really does smell..."

T.B.C.


	3. Ch 3: Nightmare

Ch. 3, Nightmare.

The sun had gone from mid afternoon to sunset by the time Ed made it back to Central Headquarters. If he was to find the root to his problem the first thing he had to do was retrace his steps from where he'd begun.

So far he'd been lucky, managing to avoid human contact on the run back. He turned a corner and headed for the back entrance so he might continue to avoid unwanted attention.

Then he made solid contact with something he failed to see.

"Oomph!" He coughed out, falling backwards and landing on his back. Groaning from hitting his head on the pavement he sat up quickly.

"Edward?" Said a feminine voice. Ed blanched and looked to see it was Lieutenant Hawkeye he'd run into. She too was on the ground, reaching for a clipboard she had most likely been holding before the crash.

"Oh, Lieutenant Ma'am!" Ed said moving to his knees. Before he could get up to help her she was already off the ground and unruffled like she'd never gone down in the first place. "This isn't like you, Edward." She said moving to help him up instead. "What are you doing here so late?"

Hesitant because of the days events Ed slowly accepted her outstretched hand and he was up off the ground. "I, I'm just taking care of something real quick. I won't be here long." He said to her. Inside he breathed a sigh of relief, so far it seemed like Hawkeye wasn't about to do anything unusual to him.

"Have you seen the Colonel by any chance?" She asked suddenly. Ed winced as the image of a half broken man trapped in a cage at his dorm room filled his mind.

"N-no, why do you ask?"

"He has papers at his desk that require his immediate attention, if you see him tell him to…" She paused suddenly, sniffing the air. "Do you smell something strange?"

Before Ed could process what she just asked him she'd already discarded her clipboard and had Ed pinned to the wall by his shoulders.

Ed felt his heart racing as Hawkeye bridged her nose against the side of his face, her cheek grazing his own. Taking care of Roy and Havoc was one thing, but Hawkeye was a woman! How the heck was he suppose to get away without doing any damage?!

"Edward, you smell so different today…" she whispered in his ear.

Another comment about how he smells, there was definitely a pattern beginning to take place…

Ed began to panic as her body crushed his to the wall, her lips bridging closer to his.

_'No! This isn't happening! Hawkeye snap out of it!'_ His mind screamed since his voice died in his terror.

She pushed her mouth against his own.

_'Stop!'_

Suddenly Hawkeye let go and cried out in pain. At her feet a small black and white dog had his jaws clamped around her lower calf, growling lowly at his master.

Taking advantage of the situation Ed ran away to the back door, silently thanking Black Hayate for rescuing him as he went through the door, slamming it behind him.

Inside Ed ran helter-skelter, turning corners and running up stairs at random, hoping against hope that he wouldn't run into anyone in his wake. The as he reached a corridor he wasn't familiar with he spotted an open door and ran inside, finding it was a janitors closet.

Flicking on the switch he quickly closed the door behind him and locked it before collapsing against the wall, breathing in and out heavily.

Overcome by the fear that gripped him earlier Ed fell victim to the pangs of sleep and he closed his eyes, crossing his arms around himself in a tired attempt to protect himself.

--

_They were chasing him.  
No matter how much he ran, no matter how much he shouted for help,_

_They still chased._

_The road he run on seemed cruel and long, his flesh leg pumped with each leap and the bearings in his left leg strained as he tried getting away,  
Away from the people he knew and the ones he didn't,_

_All after him,_

_Wanting him._

_Any second his lungs were going to burst he was so exhausted, his bangs plastered to his face from the sweat. He cried out, feeling tears of frustration cloud his vision as he ran._

_Somebody help, he heard himself yell_

_He could feel the terrible pounding of his heart as both fear and fatigue took over,_

_Suddenly the footsteps that echoed behind him seemed more distant, and he could hear himself sob in relief…_

_He was going to make it,_

_He was-_

_Then suddenly his left leg locked up, refusing to support him any longer.  
The world around him became surrounded by dirt and cement as he pitched forward, his forehead smacking the ground with a sickening crack._

_Desperately he pulled himself along the ground with his hands, shuddering from the pain and trying to see past the flow of red that ran down the bridge of his nose. The footsteps were getting closer and closer now._

_Crying out he clapped his hands and hit the cement with his palms, whimpering in shock when nothing happened._

_The footsteps were closer now, he tried to crawl away again.  
_

_Something hard came down on his back, stopping his movement, and quite suddenly the footsteps that pursued him so viciously stopped, surrounded him._

_For so many moments nothing happened. He could hear their heavy breathing beyond his own, could feel their eyes on him._

_Suddenly he was flipped to his back, the horrible laughter of his captors rang in his ears as they pounced on him,_

_Tearing at his clothes…_

_ Ignoring his cries…_

_He screamed._

--

Ed's eyes snapped open from the sound of his own voice. Shaking he looked around to see he was still in the same closet he hid in, feeling himself and his forehead he was still very much alright.

…but the fear…

The running…

The groping…

The faces…

_Their eyes_…

Feeling himself heave he turned to a mop bucket and coughed harshly until he felt his stomach held nothing more.

"This has to end…" Ed panted, wiping the residue and what he hoped the kiss from Hawkeye away with the back of his hand.

"One way or another, this has to end."

T.B.C.


	4. Ch 4:Trapped

**Ch. 4, Trapped.**

"What do you mean he's gone?!"

"Now, Al. I didn't say he was gone-gone, only that we don't know where he's at." Hughes said rubbing his temples in frustration. "We've got all of Mustangs crew on the watch for him right now."

"I'll help! I'll come over right now!"

Hughes sighed. "You'd give up a play date with my daughter just to look for your hot headed brother who's most likely alright?" Hughes said, with a slight hint of threat in his voice.

From the other side of the phone he could hear his precious daughter asking Al to come see what she drew, and suppressed a squeal of delight.

"Um, okay Alicia. Good luck finding my brother, sir!"

"Thanks Al, were going to figure this out soon, I promise." With that Hughes hung up the phone and turned to his left, a small grin on his face. "Of course right now I'd like to figure out just what happened to you."

Roy sat next to him nursing a single glass and holding an ice bag on his head. "I already told you I don't know how I ended up in there." Roy said, wincing from the headache he had. "I went to Ed's dorm, and I woke up with a headache, that's all I remember…"

"That doesn't explain how you ended up inside a makeshift cage, Roy." Hughes said taking a sip of his drink. "Are you sure you don't recall anything before hand?"

Roy looked like he was thinking hard for a second. "I remember him saying something about experimenting…" "Do I want to know the rest?" Hughes asked warily.

"It was the red water stone, you dunce," Roy said giving Hughes the evil eye. "I can't recall what he said he'd done, but I do remember an unusual smell, anything after that is foggy."

"Unusual smell…" Hughes mused staring at the drink in his glass. "I don't know what to make of that, but I hope we can find Ed soon and shed some light on this mystery."

**__**

:Meanwhile somewhere between a small office threshold and a crowd of horny infantries:

"Get the hell away from me!" Ed yelled hiding behind a desk, one of Hawkeye's guns in his hand aimed at the lunatics crowding his only exit. Of all the rooms in Central headquarters why did he pick the one with no window?!

"Edward Elric come forth!" Yelled Armstrong, over towering two unknown male and female sergeants and one he knew as Vato Falman. "I wish to further examine that wonderful smell you carry on your person!"

Lucky for Ed one of the sergeants had lodged themselves in the doorframe, sandwiching the big man from making it all the way into the room. Pocketing the gun in his coat Ed Took advantage of the situation, running forward and clapping his hands together quickly.

By the time another soldier came around that area they would see four fellow workers whining miserably, all encased like caterpillars cocooned into the wall across Lieutenant Hawkeye's office.

--

After finding no luck digging around the Second Lieutenant's office for the key he borrowed earlier Ed thought to look inside Hawkeye's room, only to find not only no key but an audience…

A little too excited an audience.

With that over Ed decided he needed to do his own thing and open the doors to the storage block eight his own way. Except…

In his early hurry to escape Hawkeye he had wound up on the fourth floor. Scoffing on the way he stopped by a window to see how far a jump down it would be. Outside the window it seemed like an easy forty or forty-two feet from the window down. With any luck he might roll just right and avoid spraining his ankle. As Ed tried pushing the window open, however, a fresh wave of voices filled the hall.

Gasping Ed pulled on the window faster, cursing as it jammed up. Crying out a sound of frustration he kicked the window with his left foot, causing the glass to shatter to pieces. Before anyone could turn the hall Ed was already out the window, arms eagle spread as he descended to the ground, surprising himself with only a slightly harsh landing that winded him for only a few seconds before he felt he could get up and continue running.

Running to where? Ed looked at his surroundings and realized he landed in the fenced off compound, where underground storage units that held artillery weapons was stored.

Running to the nearest spot between two sheds, Ed sat on the ground with his back to the wall. "If I remember correctly this place is about a few miles from the storage blocks." While Ed mulled and went into 'heavy thinking mode' over his calculating he failed to realize there was someone inside the room where he was leaning against.

--

Kimbly sighed as he stacked another box over the last three he moved. Because there was nothing important for him to do he was tasked to reorganize a few of the underground storage units. "Damn what I wouldn't give for some fireworks…" He hummed, bored out of his mind.

Surely there was something he could blow up to pass the time while he worked miserably…

As the Red Locust trudged up the stairs to the outside, pondering over which boxes he could destroy without someone noticing he though he'd heard a voice somewhere. Pausing mid step he listened for the noise again, and caught the faint sound of someone breathing out deeply.

Slowly he crept to the top steps and peeked outside the door. Pulling a small compact mirror from his uniform he angled it toward the right side of the small storage and spotted someone in a worn red coat crouched up with his head in his arms.

Kimbly scoffed. It was the military prodigy what's his name- Fullmetal or whatever. He twitched with detest as he thought of the kid's boss, Mustang. The self righteous kiss ass. Yet from what Kimbly heard the brat hated the Flame Alchemist as much as he himself did, so he figured the kid had some brains attached.

As Kimbly moved to tell the blond boy to shove off someplace else he paused and sniffed at the open air.

'_What the hell is that smell?'_

T.B.C.


	5. Ch 5: Cat and Mouse

Ch. 5, Cat and Mouse.

:WARNING- Rating for this chapter is bumped to M in lieu to darker themes this time around, if your a minor teen you've been warned. If you aren't continue on :

Ed felt the pitter patter of rain hit his coat as he moved to stand up from the ground. He dusted himself off and yawned loudly. If it wasn't for his damming circumstances he would have gone back to the dorms and straight to bed.

Luckily Al was going to be gone for the night. At least later when he figured out how to end this mess he could have enough time to maybe get Mustang out of his room without being questioned.

__

Clunk!

Ed quickly snapped his head to the left, just catching a flash of shadow before it went away. "Is someone there?" Ed asked out loud, taking small steps in case it was someone eager to comment about the 'nice smell' again.

With his back against the wall Ed turned to look around the corner and spotted an opened door. He felt his heartbeat quicken.

"Hey, who's-"

Then suddenly there was a hand over his mouth and a strong arm holding him back. Ed kicked and flailed. He tried to yell and fight whoever held him, but to no avail. Whoever had him was quite strong.

"You're the boy under Mustang's division, aren't you?" Said a voice filled with as much venom as there was silk. Ed growled lowly as he tried getting his forearms close enough to clap his hands together, but to no avail. The man walked him toward the opened door, causing Ed to mistakenly pause in fear, which gave his captor the time to throw him inside.

Ed cried out as he tumbled down the steps, his head hitting the bottom after the rest of him had gotten battered on the way down. He wobbly sat up trying to see straight and looked up at the place where he was thrown from only to watch the door close, encasing his vision in complete darkness.

And he wasn't alone, the tell tale sign of footsteps making their way down the stairs.

"Back off!!" Ed shouted. He remembered the gun and reached into his coat pocket. It wasn't there. Ed gasped loudly, he must have lost it when he fell down the stairs.

_'Not good, not good at all…' _His mind rambled_._

"Let's play a little game…" The older man's voice echoed in the din.

--

Alphonse paced back and forth. he mumbled in a small voice as he wrung his hands in disdain.

"Big Brother, are you not feeling good?" little Alicia asked as she watched him from a box of mewling kittens she sat next to.

"Alphonse?" A woman's voice said coming into the room. "Is something the matter?" Al turned to Gracia, noticing she came in, carrying a small bowl of milk for the kittens. He shook his head quickly.

"No, not really. I'm just worried about my brother is all."

She smiled softly, her eyebrows drawn together as she gazed at him in sympathy.

"I wouldn't be too upset, Alphonse." She gave the bowl to her daughter before speaking again. "If Maes said that they would find him then I know for a fact they will."

"It-it's not just that…" Al said, walking toward the window and looking out into the night. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Gracia frowned slightly. "A bad feeling? Why's that?"

Alphonse sighed despite the fact he didn't need to, but it alleviated some of the stress it put on his soul.

"If Ed stays missing, how am I going to explain this to Winry when she comes to visit tomorrow?"

Gracia hummed as she thought about what he said. "I'm not sure," She patted his arm in in reassurance. "Just hope he's found before hand."

"I guess your right." Al replied, kneeling down to scratch a kitten behind the ear. Despite her positive words, Al still felt something was terribly wrong.

__

'Brother, please be alright.'

--

"Any word around your end, Falman?"

Vato rubbed his aching temples, unable to shake away the horrible headache despite the fact it had been at least a couple hours since his memory become foggy after finding Ed pillaging the first lieutenant's office and ended up getting himself encased in the wall with the major and two other officers.

Grimacing, he spoke into the phone trying to ignore the pounding in his head. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Colonel, sir. None of us have seen him since the incident by Lieutenant Hawkeye's office."

Hughes sighed, looking at random notes he'd made and adding up the things he learned about what had occurred whenever Ed had been located. So far the only thing that stood out the most was the claims about an unusual smell before loosing their memories.

And if what Roy said about Ed experimenting with the stone was true, did that have something to do with it?

"Ed, what the hell did you do?" He whispered, none of it was making sense. There was only one thing he could think to do at a time like this.

Call a team meeting.

"Vato," Hughes said over the phone to the warrant officer. "Call everyone in Roy's division and tell them to rendezvous in his's office. We need to get to the bottom of this."

--

Ed scrambled around a corner, hoping against hope he wouldn't run into an obstacle in the lightless area again. Or the guy who trapped him here. He breathed in and out in a tired pace, trying his hardest not to be loud. His lungs hurt something terrible from all the running he'd been doing since he wound up trapped in an underground storage unit with some psychotic idiot.

An alchemist too, he discovered, when the man had blown up something in anger at not being able to catch him as easily as he had earlier and wound up blocking the exit with a stack of shelves and other rubbish.

Which left Ed at a horrible disadvantage.

The room down here did seem quite large, but it was very dark. If he used alchemy recklessly not only would it give away where he was hiding, if push came to shove the man had an arsenal of his own. Who knew what kind of lengths he would take to harm Ed in this case.

Ed had a vague idea just what would happen if he were to be caught but he refused to dwell on that.

Yet judging by the guy's attitude, Ed assumed he was someone who enjoyed overpowering others, even in a state of lack of self control. Why else would the guy toss him into a concealed area, making it close to impossible to get away without getting himself caught first?

"Oh, Fullmetal boy…come out come out wherever you are…"

Ed shook his head. What a time to be recognized by his celebrity name when he was in a terrible situation. Someone must really hate his guts.

Ignoring his inner irony, Ed ducked and paced forward, feeling along the walls as he ventured further down the confines of the dim place and away from the voice still calling for him, and promising things that Ed made himself deliberately ignore if only for the fact it might either make him sick or let fear override his judgment.

Ed nearly stumbled when the wall gave way to air. He teetered dangerously on one foot and grabbed at the edge of the wall, steadying himself. _'Close call…' _Ed thought, silently congratulating how he managed to keep himself from going down and giving away his position.

After the last few minutes of running his eyes had slowly adjusted to the difference in shadows and he deduced he was going down some hallway in the storage unit, which must mean all the underground units were interconnected.

Meaning there _had_ be another exit somewhere!

Ed held his breath when the voice became closer. Unlike Ed the guy might know his way down here a lot better, so he had to keep moving or he'd never get the chance to test his theory. Turning the corner he walked a little faster, aiming to keep his footsteps from being heard.

__

BANG!!

Something exploded behind him, causing the area to shake and Ed accidentally let out a cry of shock as he went to the ground.

"Gotcha!" The guy's voice yelled from a few feet behind him.

Ed scrambled up and ran, despite the dark and the noise of his running. It was fight or flight now, and what with the bombing display; Ed chose to fly.

As he ran down the hall he clapped his hands. He touched the wall to his right, causing a rock barrier to form behind him. Ed hoped it would hold the man off long enough to give himself the time he desperately needed to run.

Then suddenly the wall he made exploded behind him. Debris from it hit Ed, and a larger piece knocked him on the back of his head, sending him to the ground once again.

It was a painful blow. Ed could feel the slow run of warm blood going down the back of his neck. In a dizzy haste he clapped his hands together and made another wall to replace the one that got blown to smithereens.

Using the only moment he had, Ed crawled to the wall over to his left, clapping his hands again and making a nice sized hole in the wall big enough for him to crawl on hands and knees in. He shimmied into the small space and closed off the entrance, sealing himself within.

Behind the seal covering the hole he could hear his other makeshift wall explode, the angry yell from the alchemist and the footsteps as they passed his spot.

Once Ed was certain that he was gone he let out a great breath of air and winced at the throbbing in his head. Gingerly he touched the sore spot on the back of his head and felt around for the cut that was there. After finding it he decided it wasn't big enough to show concern over so he ignored the throbbing and the dizziness.

Paying no heed to the need to get sick again he let himself think about what his next move should be. Obviously there was no way he could survive if he stayed in a hole forever. Curling to his side on the ground he crossed his arms and gripped at his sleeves as he tried to think of a solution.

Going back out would mean running into the bombing lunatic and getting into trouble.

'_Damn it, THINK!' _He sternly told himself. He was trapped. What the hell was he going to do?!

Sniffling back frustration he closed his eyes. To every problem there was a solution. He had to escape, yet he had to trap the other alchemist.

__

Think

__

Think

__

Think…

--

Meanwhile Kimbly stood leaning against the wall across from where Fullmetal hid. He stared at the spot where he watched the sweet smelling boy crawl into and shut himself in.

Kimbly believed himself to be a patient guy, and it seemed quite the thrill to make his prey think it was safe until… _boom_.

He grinned wickedly. This is more fun than he thought.

--

Mustang stood at his desk. He regarded each of his subordinates, including Hawkeye, who was applying another bandage to replace the old one covering the bite wound she received on her calf via Black Hayate.

"I'm sure by now you all realize why you're here." Roy started. "The Fullmetal has gone missing and to top it off," Roy looked away from the small crowd to stare at his desk pensively.

"Despite the numerous sightings none of you or myself seem to remember what happened in between the moments he was spotted and when he disappeared."

"Don't forget the smell, Chief." Havoc pointed out. "Yes, I was getting to that." Roy answered, looking back up.

"From what I've learned I can deduce that it looks like Ed made a huge mistake with something he did 'experimenting' with the red water stone." Hughes said, brandishing his notes and setting them on the table for the others to see.

"He made a mistake?" Breda repeated. "But he's an alchemist, how does an alchemist make a mistake with something like that?"

"Alchemists _are _capable of making mistakes, Breda. Even if it is with an amplifier of sorts." Roy said coming up to the table everyone sat at. "Ed had a small number of chemicals in his possession when I went to his dorm room, he might have used them in a sequence that caused the stone to react strangely."

"Which may also explain the unusual smell everyone claims to have noticed after sighting him." Hughes finished. "Roy, I noticed there were bottles in his room when I found you there, were those the chemicals?"

"That's right, they were. The labels were marked with the state symbol."

"That must be why me and the Major can't remember what happened." Vato said helping himself to the coffee pot by the counter. Armstrong buried his head in his great hands and sighed deeply. "I feel awful for not detaining him, sir. He was well within our sights yet-"

"No need to apologize, Major." Roy said, patting the big man on the shoulder. "You aren't the only one here who feels this way."

"So, what should we do?" Fuery asked after looking at Hughes's notes. "Where are we going to start, Colonel?"

Roy looked at the group, crossing his arms as he spoke. "Well, we have two options here. Look for Edward as a group, or try figuring out the reason behind the unusual smell."

"It would make more sense to search out the reason, sir." Hawkeye said rolling her pant leg back down. "since none of us are capable of approaching Edward without loosing memory after sighting him we should try for the reason behind why it's near impossible to cross paths with him."

Roy nodded. "It makes sense. Any objections?" He addressed the group. They answered with no qualms about Riza's suggestion.

"Good, we'll split into groups of four, and since it's only me and the Major who understand alchemy we'll be team leaders."

So Roy teamed up with Hawkeye, Havoc, and Hughes while Armstrong was paired with Fuery, Breda and Falman.

"Alright, Armstrong your group will take post at the library, get as many books on alchemical ingredients as you can find. My team will gather the bottles in Ed's dorm and bring them there, then we'll study them together. Those are your orders, now go."

"Sir!" They all saluted and separated into their respective groups.

The investigation had begun.

--

The major's team made little time making it to the library. Aside from a slight mishap that involved a scramble by the Master Sergeant for the key to the doors, things had gone smoothly.

"How long do you figure we have to wait around?" Breda asked, seating himself in a chair after lighting the lamps on the table they chose.

"Not a lot," Vato replied. "I live in the same dorms as the young major, it's only four blocks away from H.Q."

"Then we should get moving and gather those books on alchemical ingredients." the major said walking through an isle of tall bookshelves and leafing through a few titles. "We don't have much-"

__

Achoo!

All four of the military men looked over to the other side of the room, Vato reaching for his gun.

"Who's over there!" Breda yelled, getting out of his seat. Fuery stayed still as he watched the others slowly walk to where the noise came from. There was no chance he was trusting random noises after the whole warehouse thirteen scare.

"In the name of Central Command, I order you to come forth and show yourself." Armstrong said in an authoritative tone of voice, nearly scaring his own platoon.

A sigh of defeat came from behind the desk. Suddenly someone popped up with his hands in the air.

It was a tall young man in wearing a white shirt and brown pants. He gazed at them behind short pale blond bangs that covered one eye.

"Okay, you caught me." He said coming from behind the desk. "I promise I'll come quietly, officers."

"And your companion?" Vato asked him, still aiming his gun. "Is he willing to cooperate as well?"

The young man turned around sharply. There stood another boy, much younger than him, wearing green overalls over a white tee shirt and a face of guilt nearly masked by the cut-off hat he wore over equally blond hair.

"Fletcher I told you to stay put!" The older boy said, scolding the younger one, causing the officers to believe that the two may be siblings.

"But I didn't want you to get taken away by yourself!" The younger boy said back in an almost timid protest.

"You boy's don't belong here." Armstrong said cutting in the argument. They both looked up at him, the one called Fletcher nearly shirking away in fear, while the other merely narrowed his gaze. It almost reminded him of the way Edward would react to opposition except this boy had gray eyes, the exact opposite to the Fullmetal's amber gold ones.

Suppressing the memory as it reminded him how he'd earlier failed to apprehend Ed, Armstrong looked at the tall teenager with growing weariness. "If you and the younger one leave now I won't report this to the police-"

The younger boy's voice was so small it was almost hard to hear him but it was enough to rouse the groups interest.

"Umm, excuse me, but are you major Armstrong?"

Taken aback Armstrong looked over at the boy, who migrated from behind the desk and bravely stood next to his older brother. "I think he is, remember Russell? Ed told us about him when we were in Xenotime-"

"Wait, did you say Ed?" Breda asked, shoving a bit at Vato's gun, silently telling him to put it away. "Do you know Edward Elric?"

The taller one, Russell, perked up at the word Elric. "Fullmetal Alchemist Ed Elric? Yeah, we know him."

"I remember!" Fuery said finally joining the group. "I read the file on the red water incident. It mentioned two other brothers contributing to the discovery of the man, Mugear's plot to contaminate the water supply of Xenotime."

A look of sudden guilt shot across both faces of the two boys before it vanished.

"So the two of you are the ones who helped Edward." Armstrong said, holding both his hand out to shake theirs. "I must say it's nice to finally meet the both of you, despite these circumstances."

Russell and Fletcher put on brave faces and shook the major's hands.

"Now what could have possessed the two of you to sneak onto military premises?" Armstrong asked, crossing his big arms and eyeing the both of them.

"It…it's for research…" Fletcher said, ignoring the look of anger from his older brother. "I told my brother there could have been other ways but…"

"That's enough, Fletcher." Russell said to him. The boy went silent. Russell looked Armstrong in the eye. "Actually, we had come to see Ed about something that a man named Belsio found underground in Xenotime, but we couldn't find Ed."

Armstrong shook his head. "I'm sorry, boys. Edward Elric has gone missing."

"Missing?" Fletcher asked before Russell did. "Like kidnapped missing?"

"He took off somewhere and none of us are able to apprehend him." Fuery spoke up. Suddenly Breda smacked his fist to his other hand with a noise of _ah ha!_

"Hey, you two know something about the red water stone don't you?"

Both blinked with wide eyes. "What about the red water stone?" Russell asked with a serious tone in his voice.

"It could be the reason why none of us are able to find and catch Edward." Armstrong said, getting where Breda was going by asking them. "If you two know something about how the red water stone works and help us I'll pardon this little break in."

Russell looked a bit on the suspicious side, but he nodded his head.

"Sure, no problem. Although your going to have to be a bit more specific on what happened with Ed and this red water stone."

--

Roy's group had reached the dorms around the time Armstrong's team discovered the Tringham brothers.

While Hughes conversed with the dorm keeper about Ed's whereabouts the other three waited in the small front door lobby.

It was silent save for the static from a radio Roy was playing with, trying to tune into a voice singing 'All Heaven Is Calling'. Havoc sat in a chair reading an outdated car magazine, wishing the place could be a little more livelier than with just the other three as company.

"Sir, permission to speak." Riza said breaking the group silence.

Roy turned his head to look at the Riza. "What is it, Lieutenant?"

She sighed. "This may seem beyond my concept since I don't understand the fundamentals of alchemy, but I've been thinking."

Roy shut off the radio. "What's on your mind?"

Riza continued. "Don't you find it strange that Black Hayate would attack me?"

Roy nodded somewhat. "It does seem out of character for your dog, but what does this have to do with the investigation?"

Riza gazed at her superior officer with conviction in her maroon eyes. "Think about it this way. If were are loosing our memories because of something Edward had foolishly done with the stone, then what was it that made Black Hayate bite me during my memory loss?"

Havoc blinked, looking up from the magazine he was reading. From where he was sitting it looked like Riza was grappling with a terrible realization, and losing.

"Lieutenant? What's wrong?"

"It's just…" She said in a low voice that Roy and Havoc almost had to move closer just to hear her.

"What if I had been doing something to upset Black Hayate? What if I…"

"Riza, please speak up." Roy asked her, stepping forward slightly.

She looked up at the both of them. "What if I had done something terrible enough to cause Edward to run away?"

The two men gaped at Riza. Havoc was about to ask her if she was joking around, but this was Hawkeye, The Pistol Packer. At the same time who the heck would jest at a time like this?

"You think you attacked him?" Roy asked. His face didn't show it, but a feeling of intense realization had slap him across the face, and in his soul.

"It… kind of makes sense…" Havoc said carefully, breathing in and out deeply. Suddenly the thought of silence and solitude didn't seem like such a bad idea to him.

"Hey," Hughes said coming back into the lobby. "Sorry I took so long, I had to show Rick how much my little baby girl had grown. I spoke with him, he said he hadn't seen Ed at all since earlier this morning. So there's a good chance those bottles are still in his room-" Hughes stopped and stared at his friends. At first the other three were gung ho about solving the great mystery revolving around Ed.

Now they just looked haggard and torn, Roy hid his grief but the other two looked as if they swallowed cherries not realizing it had been lemons the whole time.

"Did I miss something?"

--

Hughes scratched the back of his head and sighed. After hearing Riza's theory about the occurrences during the memory loss he had to admit, it was an uncanny coincidence.

They'd made it to Ed's room and decided to hold a brief meeting over this new development before taking off to the library with the chemical bottles.

"Poor kid…" Hughes muttered. "If that's really what's been going on, I have to say I don't blame him for being on the run."

"We don't know for sure if we've been attacking him though." Roy said as he knelt by the coffee table. He picked up one of the chemical bottles and looked at it. "Since none of us remember anything in between those times."

"Either case, chief. What would motivate Fullmetal to keep running off whenever we get near him?" Havoc said from over by the sofa, knelt down to look at the red coloring in the green carpet on the floor, still having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that it used to be a solid red stone.

"It still rings a lot of bells, for me anyway."

"That and tie in the fact that I found you here trapped in the cage-"

"Yes, Hughes, I get it!" Roy said turning his head away to hide the chagrin that dared to linger on his face. "Your right. Maybe the smell is associated to something triggering anger and making us attack Ed for no apparent reason."

"How much do you know about how the human body works, sir?" Riza asked Roy, getting up off the sofa to observe the four bottles at the table with him.

"Only a little, you'd have to asked the major if you want a full detail."

"If that's the case then shouldn't we get going? We need to let the others know we might have a break in this case." Hughes came up to the coffee table. He read the names on the bottles.

Glycerol, Sodium Chloride, Amino Acid, and Vanadyl Sulfate.

"Odd assortment here…" Roy muttered, glancing at Hughes.

He shrugged, pushing up his glasses with his forefinger. "Don't look at me, alchemy is your territory."

Roy grimaced. "I wasn't even going to ask you." He stood up from the table. "Alright I think we've got everything we need here. Havoc, make your self useful and carry the bottles; we're leaving now."

Havoc made a small noise of protest as he joined the others long enough to grab the bottles and-

Stare blankly at the bundle with his face white like vanilla frosting.

"Lieutenant Havoc, is something the matter?" Hawkeye asked, falling behind to gaze at the second lieutenant with worry.

He opened and closed his mouth several times before he made what sounded like an incoherent chirp.

Roy groaned in frustration, rounding on his subordinate. "Havoc, what's the hold up, and why are you gawking at the bottles?"

"I…I…" He stammered. "Oh dear sweet- of all the- how did he-"

Roy cuffed Havoc on the shoulder, ending the nonsensical mumbo jumbo that spewed from his lips. "Havoc, either say what's wrong or shut up, which do you prefer?"

Havoc shut his eyes tightly, a flushed look on his face as he breathed in and out deeply.

"I… I think I have a slight idea about what happened here, chief."

--

Edward slowly breathed in and out deeply. He tried to sweat away some of the fear that lingered in his heart. It had been at least an hour or two since he'd hidden himself in the hole, so the chances that the other alchemist might still be around were slim to none. With a push to his Psyche he clapped both hands together, touching the small blockage that he made to cover the entrance to the hole.

He stayed still a moment to watch the blue sparks dissipate into the air before he began to crawl forward.

"Surprise…" whispered a voice in front of him.

Ed gasped loudly and stumbled backward, landing on his bottom and nearly hitting the top of his head on the ceiling of the hole.

"Did you think I didn't see you go hiding here?" The man said, blocking the entrance. Behind him the lights were on and Ed could see the face of the guy who caused him so much grief.

It was someone who very much resembled the snake like quality Ed noticed when the man spoke, with expressionless dotty black eyes (unless you counted the look of wrongful excitement) and dark hair tied up at the back.

"Look, I-I don't want any trouble!" Ed stammered, hoping to reason with him since he seemed more in control of himself than the rest.

Although, if he were in control of his emotions, didn't that make him even more dangerous?

"Oh don't think your getting away that easy," He mocked. Then he leered somewhat, looking at Ed's body in addition to his face, making Ed cringe while bringing his legs up toward his chest.

"You remind me of something I seen in a bar once," The man rambled on. "It was a real pretty thing. A killer body, gorgeous legs, and hair about as long and blond as yours." He knelt further down till his head was within the threshold of the hole.

He breathed in loudly, taking in whatever scent Ed carried on his person. The man's dark gaze fixed on Ed's frightened eyes and bored into them like drills.

"Do you know what I wanted to do with something like that?"

Ed's eyes went wild with tension when the man got on his knees. He had been foolish making this hole! It was big enough that the man could easily slip into it without hitting his head.

"First I wanted to get real close, just like this…"

__

The guy begun to crawl into the hole!

The breath in Ed's throat hitched and he backed away, hitting the rock wall behind him. "Wait! Don't- don't come any closer!"

"What are you gonna do?" The man sneered. "You pull any of your alchemy stunts in this thing you go too."

Ed heartbeat hammered when the man got close enough to touch his boots.

"No, stop! I'm begging you! Please don't!"

"That's right, the little bitch would say what you just said." He was close enough that he was practically over Ed, one knee parting his legs. With both hands he pinned Ed against the wall behind him. "Then I would touch her just like this…"

"Let me go!" Ed begged, his voice cracking with the effort to keep from sobbing. He tried to pry away from the fingers that touched his face, the thumb that brushed his lips. He felt a hand crawl up the side of his leg.

"Stop!"

The man gripped both sides of Ed's head and forcefully made him look into his face.

"Then I'd explore her a little, just to see what makes her tick…"

Ed felt and heard the snap of the clasp on his shirt being yanked away. Then his mouth was invaded by the other alchemist. Ed ground his teeth down and struggled, trying to evade the tongue that demanded entrance. Suddenly his jacket was pulled down his shoulders till both his arms were exposed.

Holding his ragged breath and prying his vision away from the mouth that moved to invade his neck, he looked at something on the wall next to him. He cried out as the man harshly turned him over so he was his stomach, jacket pulled all the way off.

Ed winced through his teeth, trying to ignore the cold hands sliding his shirt up as he inched his right hand toward the thing only he noticed. He touched the edge of it.

A small smile of satisfaction hit Ed's lips as he watched the blue shock of alchemy spark to life.

The wall in front of Ed dissapeared, letting him shoot away from the man and out of the small hole into another room. Inside the hole the man yelped in shock.

The small ceiling above him begun to cave in, sending rocks showering over him.

He tried to crawl forward but he wasn't small enough to leave the way Ed had so he tried backing away, shocked to find that the way he came in was sealed off.

The other alchemist yelled loudly as he was buried to the point of no escape.

After a moment of nothing happening Ed collapsed to his knees on the floor, arms slack like a great burden just fell from his shoulders. He spit at the ground and exhaled deeply, a great smile grew on his face, adding to the growing glow in his eyes.

His plan had worked.

Earlier while Ed was still inside the hole he became curious as to the whereabouts of the wall behind him and discovered another hall just around an area that he had came from earlier. Using this new knowledge to his advantage, Ed devised a plan to make it seem like he was trapped when all the while above him there was a jumble of rocks made unsteady by the wonders of alchemy only to be triggered into action by the touch of a symbol Ed had carved into the wall after going back in the hole and resealing the other exit.

All it took was a little bait and it worked like a charm.

Laughing in relief he wiped his mouth and brushed away stray tears of relief from his eyes. He was a better actor than he thought. He wondered briefly if he should go into acting and theater after getting his brother's body back.

Ending his victory celebration he got up from the floor, inspecting the damage made to the clasp on his shirt. Seeing the torn fabric and missing fastener he sighed, a little peeved that he lost his favorite jacket in the process. Scoffing he decided it didn't matter right now.

Turning on his heels he walked away from the clever trap and set off to find the exit.

He still had a long way to go before he could properly celebrate being free of trouble.

T.B.C.


	6. Ch 6: Research

Keiyou: This fic had been on a major Haitus for... well the title of the chapter explains it best. It had occurred to me that I wanted to walk into this story with at least some knowledge (or lack thereof) about what was happening and why it happened. The result was two and a half years of poking and prodding for info while life continuously stepped in to show me what-for.

Well, here is the result, I hope you enjoy it. ;3

**Ch. 6, Research.**

"So you say it's a smell that makes you lose your memories."

Vato nodded, crossing his arms and sighing. "It's hard to distinguish. At first I thought it was flowers that the lieutenant had in her office, but then…" He arched his eyebrows as he tried seeing past the fog in his mind.

Nothing.

"Flowers?" Armstrong whispered. "I only remember something that reminded me greatly of the perfume my first girlfriend would wear, white lily and jasmine."

Breda fought the will to ask when the major had been dating and asked something that seemed a bit more on the side of important. "Hold, on a second. How could you both smell something different if you were there at the same time?"

Russell blinked. There were too many lose ends. If what they were saying was true, then what was it that made them interpret different smells? Russell scoffed. He knew so little about biology other than what he learned the red water stone did to affect the human body. Enhance the power in someone's strength if used right, so it was an amplifier of the human functions.

Did that count any of the five senses? Sight? Hearing? Taste? Smell….

If Ed had become able to do something with the stone that made them forget what it was that happened it must be something that manipulates the mind.

But what?

The library was deathly quiet as Russell sat at the table with his arms crossed and his eyes closed tight in concentration while the small group waited, fidgeting with anticipation.

Then Russell opened his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "Nope, I don't have any idea what's up with him."

The breath the four of them had been holding came out in disappointed huffs. "Are you sure?" Fuery asked in a small voice. "There has to be something you could guess."

Russell shook his head. "I wish I could, but from what I'm hearing it sounds like an experiment gone awry, aside from that I couldn't tell you the reason for it without seeing what it was the shrimp used in his lab."

Fletcher was sitting adjunct from his brother with a book in front of him, looking at the text and frowning. "You did say that there's others getting the supplies he used, right?"

Armstrong nodded, looking at his watch and reading it by the light of the candle from the table. "Yes, they should be here soon." At least he hoped they would, it was quickly becoming dawn and the longer it took for them to find out what went wrong with Edward Elric the more it meant possibly never finding out.

xxxx

Ed clapped his hands and held them to the door. When the wood shifted into a hole tall enough for him to go through he stopped the transmutation.

Looking around in case somebody seen him, he went inside the eighth warehouse.

Clicking on an overhanging light he approached the place where he acquired the bottles from earlier, seeing extra.

"Yeah, these where the ones, alright..." He muttered, taking one and giving it the stink eye as he read it's contents. One of them had been what screwed up his experiment, and he'd be damned if he didn't try to find out which one it was. Gathering the others he stuffed them in his pocket, wishing he hadn't lost his coat.

Ed shuddered involuntarily. His coat. It had gotten crushed under the rocks he trapped that man under. If he hadn't been planning ahead in case he got caught...

Ed curled his hands into fists. He needed to get the antidote for his dilemma, and fast.

He exited the warehouse, fixing the door to it's rightful state before he ran off towards the laboratory that gave him the red water stone sample. If they were willing to part with one they could stand to loose another.

Only this time he wasn't planning on asking for it, not a chance.

xxxx

Alphonse slowly opened a window, trying his hardest to make sure it didn't squeak on him and wake up the young girl who'd fallen asleep on the floor with a flower patch blanket next to a dozen drawing papers.

Relief came to him as the window was wide enough for him to slip through. _"I'm sorry, Alicia." _He thought as he slid the window back into place. _"But I need to go find Ed."_

The streets glowed from the rain earlier, and Al could hear puddles splash from under his feet as he jogged down the sidewalk.

As he ventured away from the Hughes's home, he thought back to before he and Ed separated for the day.

_"I'll be back tomorrow, brother. Will you be alright by yourself?"_

"_I said I'd be fine, Al. I've got those books from that old man to keep me company."_

"_Alright, but don't stay up too late, Winry's going to be at the station tomorrow."_

"_I know, I know…"_

"He didn't find something in the books, did he?" Al pondered, stopping by a streetlamp.

Before he and his brother got back to Central the two had run into a group of thieves in a small town trying to rob an old man. The man thanked the brothers by giving them a set of old alchemy textbooks they haven't read before.

Ed had been pretty eager to dig right into them. Maybe they held some clue about why his brother is acting strange. With a fresh start he raced for the dorms.

xxxx

From the front of the library the doors swung open. Russell turned his head after the officers and his younger brother did, and watched as three people marched in, obviously being the others that the Major Armstrong had been saying would be here.

Except this entourage looked far from the ones Armstrong said were the most eager to find the cause of the mystery.

In fact they looked downright pissed off, aside from the blond guy. He more or less looked ready to piss himself.

"Gentlemen," Roy said, seeing the two boys and raising an eyebrow, but it didn't last very long. "It seems our situation is a bit more critical than we've previously believed." Suddenly Roy stepped back and pushed Havoc forward, making the broken looking man-thing stumble forward.

"Go on, Havoc. Explain to everyone what it is that's been causing all this catastrophe." He leered at Havoc as if saying something along the lines of a promising death if he didn't speak up soon.

"W-well.." Havoc stammered. "I have the k-keys to the storage block eight."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "See, the thing is… I had something in there that Ed used on the red water stone."

Eyebrows from the listening party of Armstrong shot up. "What was it?" Breda asked. He'd been the most eager to know the details of this case since he hadn't run into Ed to confirm the others claims with his own eyes.

"I…I…"

"Tell them or I will!" Roy snapped, his eyes glaring daggers. "I won't be pretty about it!"

Havoc gulped audibly and shut his eyes tightly as the words fell from his lips. "I hid a bottle of 'Nerve' in the warehouse!"

The room became so silent not even the fall of a pebble could escape their notice.

"What the heck is 'Nerve'?" Russell frowned.

Suddenly, like a textbook dictionary had been present, Vato suddenly began rambling. "One 'Nerve'. Proper name; Liquid Pheromone. Street name; Liquid Date . It is a manufactured product of the southern countries made for attracting the opposite sex. It comes in two varieties for men and women-"

Suddenly a hand went down on the desk, interrupting Falman's tirade and everyone looked at the source. "That's it!" Fletcher said jovially. "It's animal instinct that's making all this happen!"

Russell sighed. "Yes, Fletcher. I think a lot of us got the hint."

"Wait a second!" Fuery cut in. "That stuff is illegal. Lieutenant why were you hiding something like that in the warehouse?"

Havoc wept like a broken water balloon. "I hid it there because I am a shallow man with no sense of worth who can't get a girlfriend without being as low as sewer scum to the point that I'll stoop to anything rotten in this world just to manipulate the meek!"

Around the word shallow Armstrong's group minus the Trigram brothers figured those were Roy's exact words.

And they had to agree.

After the initial explanation Roy looked rightly miffed, yet Hughes could see the worry lines creasing his brow. Ed was running because of a stupid thing Havoc did, and was paying the price for it when the boy only wanted to find an easier solution to right the wrongs of his past.

"I have to say I still don't believe it." Hughes said at last, stepping up. "To think Ed's been running because of an amplified amorous seems too bizarre." Hughes looked at the group and smiled. "Now who are these boys here, Major?"

**T.B.C.**


End file.
